Wait

Micah 7:7 NIV As for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.

If you observe human behavior even on a small scale, you will soon realize there is a universal human trait that cannot be denied: we categorically hate to wait. We want instant gratification. We want life’s biggest problems solved in a half hour or less. When a stoplight feels like it is stuck red for eternity, the traffic is barely inching forward during rush hour, the express checkout line is not express enough, or maybe a family member is taking just a little too much time to get ready. Yet, waiting on the Lord is potentially the most necessary aspect of a healthy, growing Christ-centered life.

There is literally not a single person in the Bible who was used by the Lord that did not experience the wait. Our resistance to waiting is grounded in two things that the Lord exposes through the wait: 1) a me-first mentality, where everything is for ourselves and about ourselves, and 2) the illusion that we are in control. Waiting on the Lord helps us understand what the LORD told Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Is. 55:8). We pray in hope, and then we wait on the Lord to answer. And often, before we receive, God enrolls us in His school of waiting to deal with our impatience and produce a submission to His always good and perfect timing and will. We often are called to wait upon Him, even when we don’t know what He is doing.

The call in Matthew 6:34 to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything pray” is not just a command to make you feel shameful or guilty for battling anxiety and fear during the wait. It is a call for those that are waiting on God to choose hope, to expect God to move, to provide an answer to our request, and for his will, not mine, to be done. To stand upon the promise that when we draw near to God, delighting in Him, He will give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). It is trusting in God’s steadfast love, endless faithfulness, and immeasurable mercy. “The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love” (Psalms 147:10-11).

Hope is a requirement during the waiting. The Old Testament word qāvâh and the New Testament word ekdechomai, which are both translated ‘to wait,’ also mean to look, hope, and expect. “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his Word, I put my hope” (Psalms 130:5). But it’s hard to see hope sometimes. When hope is tucked away and we can’t quite see the glimmer of answered prayers, our hope must come from God’s promises, knowing that neither God nor his promises change.

Most importantly, waiting is a time of empowerment. ”Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength” (Isaiah 40:31), with the promise we will run and not grow weary, walk and not faint. This is not an idle time but a time of active anticipation, of running, walking, and looking to the Lord for what will happen next. The last instruction Jesus gave to his disciples was to wait, and they would be empowered. “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. And you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Waiting isn't optional but a necessary step toward living the empowered, abundant life Jesus died for you to have. “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3). Our waiting must be grounded in the trust and confidence that God’s plan is better than my own.

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Gary and Sandy Anthony

Psalms 27:14 NIV Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Hosea 12:6 NIV But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.

Jude 1:20-21 NIV But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Isaiah 64:4 NLT For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!

Psalms 130:5-6 NIV I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, indeed more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Psalms 38:15 NIV Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God.

Psalm 69:13 ESV But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.”

Psalms 119:166 NIV I wait for your salvation, Lord, and I follow your commands.

Psalms 33:20-22 NIV We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

Lamentations 3:22-26 NIV Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Romans 8:24-25 TPT Hope means that we must trust and wait for what is still unseen. For why would we need to hope for something we already have? So because our hope is set on what is yet to be seen, we patiently keep on waiting for its fulfillment.

1 Corinthians 1:7 NLT Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 26:7-8 ESV The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous. In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.

Psalms 37:7 NIV Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Psalms 25:5 NAS Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.

Hebrews 6:13-15 NIV When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.